Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Relocate to Sejong Next Year... Public Institutions Also Moving to Provinces

[Anchor]

The government has decided to relocate the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family to Sejong City in the first half of next year. The relocation of some 350 public institutions in the capital area to regional provinces will also be pursued.

Reporter Kim Hye-young has the story.

[Reporter]

The current Happy City Act specifies five agencies that are excluded from relocation targets to Sejong City.

The government plans to revise this law to push for the relocation of the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family starting in the first half of next year.

[Han Sung-sook / Prime Minister: Starting in the first half of 2027, we will prioritize relocating agencies with large relocation scales and ripple effects to Sejong Special Self-Governing City.]

Among the government's 19 ministry-level departments, four currently have their headquarters in Seoul: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family.

There is one, the Ministry of Justice, located in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries relocated to Busan last year, while the remaining 13, including the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of Education, are based in Sejong.

Once the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family in Seoul and the Ministry of Justice in Gwacheon relocate to Sejong as planned, the number of ministry-level departments in Sejong will increase to 15, while those in the capital area will decrease to 3.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Unification, and the Ministry of National Defense have decided to review their relocation to Sejong in line with the completion of the presidential office in Sejong in 2029 and the opening of the National Assembly branch in 2033.

Agencies that require separate office buildings, such as the Public Prosecutors' Office, the Serious Crimes Investigation Agency, and the National Police Agency, will pursue relocation after constructing new buildings.

Some 350 public institutions in the capital area will also begin relocating to regional innovation cities starting next year under the principle of "minimizing retention in the capital area."

[Han Sung-sook / Prime Minister: We will avoid piecemeal distribution, gather regional growth energy like a bonfire, and directly deploy it centered on innovation cities to maximize the strength of regional hubs.]

The government plans to finalize and announce the administrative and public institutions subject to relocation and their respective relocation regions in the fourth quarter of this year.

(Video by Cho Choon-dong | Video Editing by Yu Mi-ra | Graphics by Im Chan-hyuk and Yang Gi-tae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.